Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Anthony Spencer (93) celebrates after forcing a fumble and gaining possession of the ball in a game against the Cleveland Browns during the second half of play at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington on Sunday, November 18, 2012. The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Cleveland Browns 23-20 in overtime.

It’s uncertain if this past season was Anthony Spencer’s last as a member of the Dallas Cowboys. But if it was, he will be leaving the organization at the pinnacle point of his career.

Spencer is scheduled to become a free agent in March, and the outside linebacker figures to be a hot commodity, especially now that he is preparing to play in his first Pro Bowl on Sunday.

Added to the NFC roster earlier this month as a replacement for Green Bay’s Clay Matthews, Spencer will represent the Cowboys along with tight end Jason Witten, who make his eighth appearance after collecting 110 catches in 2012, and establishing the single-season NFL receptions record for a player at his position.

Teammate DeMarcus Ware, whom Spencer is most often compared to, won’t participate in his seventh Pro Bowl after undergoing surgery on his right shoulder following the season.

When Ware was selected to go to Hawaii in December, many wondered if Spencer was more deserving of the invitation.

Spencer led the team in tackles with 95 and his 11 sacks resulted in more lost yardage than the 11 1/2 Ware had accumulated.

“He’s always impacted the game,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said of Spencer after the season. “He’s a hard guy to block. He’s a hard guy to block in the run game. He’s a hard guy to block in the pass game. At critical moments, he was the guy that was making the plays.”

In many ways, that’s because Spencer was given more freedom to create havoc. After being pegged with an $8.8 million franchise tag last off-season, the Cowboys’ coaches and executives outlined Spencer’s expectations and told him he would be given more opportunities to rush the passer.

“He was excited about that,” said Spencer’s agent, Jordan Woy.

Spencer’s enthusiasm carried over to the practice field, where Garrett marveled that the sixth-year veteran was leading by example. After inside linebackers Bruce Carter and Sean Lee suffered season-ending injuries, Garrett said Spencer “really took charge of that defense.”

The statistical evidence backs that up. Despite missing two games, Spencer had 25 more tackles than the Cowboys defender with next-highest total. He collected almost double the amount of sacks he had in his most productive seasons prior to 2012. Because of his performance, Spencer is expected to attract plenty of suitors.

“Having a great season like that you get a payoff,” Woy said. “So whether he is in the Pro Bowl or not, there is no question I think he helped himself out there, and he proved to himself he’s not only a good coverage guy and a good tackler, but he also can get to the quarterback with sacks, hurries and pressures.

“He helped himself without any question. Now it’s obviously a matter if the [Cowboys] feel like he’s a great fit.”

That wasn’t a question four weeks ago. But it is now. This month, Dallas fired defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, hired Monte Kiffin as his replacement and made plans to switch to a 4-3 alignment. In that formation, Spencer would be a defensive end, a position he played at Purdue and one he believes would suit him at the professional level, according to Woy.

“He’d love to stay in Dallas,” Woy said. “But ultimately it is a business and sometimes that works out and sometimes that doesn’t. He’s prepared for whatever the situation is. But if he had his first choice, it would be to stay in Dallas.”

Woy said he expects to talk to the Cowboys in the coming weeks to gauge their interest and begin the process of working out a deal. In the meantime, Spencer is preparing to play in his first — and perhaps only Pro Bowl — as a member of the Cowboys.

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